Machine for removing weeds from railway roadbeds



A. SCHEUCHZER.

MACHINE FOR REMOVING WEEDS FROM RAILWAY ROADBEDSJ APPLICATION FlLED MAR.,3I| I921- Patented Jan. 3,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- .11.6CJLBLOGM81Z A. SCH-EUCHZER.

MAC'H INE FOR REMOVING WEEDS FROM RAILWAY ROADBEDS.

APPLICATION nuzn MAR. 31. I921.

,4O2,663 Patented Jan. 3, 1922,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Imam/730.2 AJSQZLBZLGZZ/ZQB,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AUGUSTE SCHEUCHZER; OF BENENS, SWITZERLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 3, 1922.

Application filed March 31, 1921. Serial No. 457,457.

(GRANTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF A GT OFjMARCH 3, 1921, 41 STAT. I, 1313.)

T 0 all whom it may concern-1 Be it known that I, AUGUSTE SOHEUGH- znn, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, residing at 'Renens, Switzerland, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Removing Weeds from Railway Roadbeds (for which I'have filed applications in Switzerland Dec. 11, 1916, Patent No. 75,218, and in Germany Oct. 1, 1918, Patent No. 330260;) .and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This inventionrelates to a machine for removing weeds from railwayroad beds by means of which a knife carried by a truck is drawn over or through the bed in order to extract and remove weeds growing thereon.

If it were only a question of passing over the road bed with a knife, the latter could be carried by a hand controlled lever at convenient height and brought'into contact with the bed. But it has been proved that the weeds cannot effectively be removed by carrying the knife in contact with the bed and that it is much better to draw the knife through the ballast or the like so that the weeds will be effectively loosened and removed.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine in which it is possible to provide an automatic definite but adjustable rise and fall of the knives.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one method of carrying the invention into effect,

Figs. 1 and 2 represent a longitudinal section of a machine according to the in vent-ion with the parts shown respectively in inoperative and operative position,

Fig. 3 is a plan view corresponding to Figs. 1 and 2,

Figs. %6 show detail views with the knife adjusted at three different heights,

Fig. 7 illustrates the device for limiting the amount of lift of the knives.

According to the invention, the knife 1 is not operated by hand but by means of a power cylinder 2 and for this purpose the knife is connected by members 3, 4, 5 with the cross head 6. The inlet of steam to the cylinder 2 is so regulated from a pilot roller 8 through an intermediate member 7 that between the sleepers the knife is carried somewhat'below the level of the track and is drawn through the ballast or the like, but'at the sleepers these pilot rollers S are operated by any suitable projecting parts (for example the nuts or boltheads of rail chairs) so that the slide valve of the cylinder 2 is moved and thus the knife is drawn out of the track and over thesleepers. On

the return movement of the roller as it lindrical guide passes a rod 11 which is connected by a'link with the connecting-rod I) and carries'collars 12,13 on either side of the guide. The collar 12 is adjustable and provides the means for determining, the lowered positionof the knife and. the collar 13 determines the raised position thereof. From a post 15 fixed to the cylindrical guide 9 swinging cheeks 17 are so carried by an arm 16 that normally they surround the rod 11 between the guide 9 and the collar 13 so that the latter comes against thecheeks as the knife is raised and amount of lift.

By means of foot levers 18, 19 which operate shafts 20, 21 these cheeks can be either brought together or simultaneously separated by the driver by means of rods 22, Fig. 7 By this means the rod 11 can he moved one step further as in Fig. 6 on the thus limit the raising of the knife by the cylinder or furrails of railway tracks including a carriage movable along said tracks, ground treating members supported by said carriage and drawn through the ballast of the track bed, means for moving said ground treating members toward and away from the track 1 bed as the carriage advances along said tracks, and automatically operating control means for the last mentioned means constructed to cause said means to move the ground treating members toward and away from the track bed to insure the passage of the ground treating members over the tics of the tracks.

2. A machine for removing weeds growing between and alongside of the rails of railway tracks, including a carriage movable along said tracks, ground treating members supported by said carriage and movablewith the carriage along the tracks, means for moving said members into and out of engagement with the road bed, and controlling means for the last mentioned means including an element associated with the carriage and engaging said road bed.

3. A machine of the kind defined by claim 2 in which the means for moving the ground treating members into and out of engagement with the road bed includes a power cylinder and in which the control means includes a valve controlling the admission and exhaust of fluid to and from said cylin-' der. 7

4:. A machine of the kind defined by claim 2 including stops for regulating the depth to which, the ground treating members may penetrate the road bed and to limit the distance which said ground treating members may be moved away from said road bed. i

5. A machine of the kind defined by claim 2 including means for regulating the distance which said ground treating members may be moved away from said road bed, said regulating means including a slidable rod, a collar connected to said rod, a relatively fixed abutment through which said rod slid'es, jaws engageable with said rod adapted to engage said collar for controlling the movement of the sliding rod in one direction, and means for moving said jaws toward and away from saidrod.

6. A machine for removing weeds and the like growing between and alongside the rails of railway tracks, including supporting means movable over said tracks, knives carried by said supporting means and adapted to be drawn through the ballast or the like between the ties of the road bed, a

power cylinder having a piston, means con 7 necting sald plston to sald knlves to permit said piston to move said knives into and out or the ballast of the road bed, and controlling means tor said power cylinder including a pilot roller engageable with the trackway and adapted to control the admission and exhaust of power fluid to and from the cylinder for causing the knives to be forced into the ballast between the ties and to be lifted over the ties. V f

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUSTE SGHEUGl-IZER. W'itnesses:

EDGAR FAVRE, EMILE KiiNz. 

